About Us

The Bad Habits Writing Academy is the Substack home of Aaron Zimmerman (he/his) and his creative writing offerings and community. In 2002, Aaron founded NY Writers Coalition, one of the nation’s largest community writing programs. He has served as NYWC’s Executive Director for the past 22 years. NYWC recently announced it will be closing this year, but Aaron will continue his passion for supporting writers through BHWA.

Aaron founded NYWC based on the success of the workshops he began in April 2000 at The Prince George, a supportive housing community for low-income, formerly homeless and special-needs populations. Aaron is a former co-chair of the Board of Directors of Amherst Writers and Artists has been leading creative writing workshops using the AWA method since 1997.

Aaron was named a 2005 Petra Fellow by The Petra Foundation for his “distinctive contributions to the rights, dignity and autonomy of others,” and he served on the Petra Foundation Board of Directors from 2011-2015. He was named as one of the “Top 100 New Yorkers” of 2003 by New York Resident magazine for his work with NYWC. He was named a “Community Hero” in 2023 for his contributions to Ft. Greene Brooklyn.

Aaron has an MA in Creative Writing from City College. His novel, By The Time You Finish This Book You Might Be Dead (Spuyten Duyvil, October 2003), was selected by Poets and Writers as a “New and Noteworthy” book. His fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in numerous publications, including The Brooklyn Rail, The Daily News, Georgetown Review, South Dakota Review, Jeopardy, Mid-America Poetry Review, Mudfish. He also has taught creative writing at City College.

Aaron is near completion of his second novel, and Bad Habits Writing Academy incorporates techniques and strategies for accountability, goal setting, and creating new work that he developed over the past few years.